IIHS: pickup passengers more liable to be injured than drivers

Pickup truck owners in Georgia should know the results of some recent crash tests that were conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Since 2017, the IIHS has been testing the safety of both driver and front passenger sides, and it looked at 11 two-row pickups from automakers like GM, Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Researchers found that front passenger safety is being neglected compared to driver safety. In fact, passengers in newer pickups are more likely to suffer injury or death in an accident than the drivers. The following is a ranking of the 11 vehicles’ front passenger protection.

The worst was the Toyota Tundra. Researchers rated it “poor” and noted how the vehicle would struggle to maintain its structure during crash tests. Part of the reason for this may be that the Tundra has not been overhauled in recent years. The last major redesign for it was in 2014.

Above that were five vehicles with a “marginal” rating. This included the Nissan Frontier and four GM vehicles: the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and GMC Sierra 1500. Two vehicles, the Honda Ridgeline and the Toyota Tacoma, received an “acceptable” score.

Finally, the three deemed “good” were the Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and Nissan Titan. By comparison, driver safety was “good” in nine vehicles with the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Frontier scoring “marginal.”

Passengers involved in a car crash may file a personal injury claim against the driver responsible, even if that was the driver they were riding with. In Georgia, those who are less than 50 percent at fault can recover damages, but the amount they recover will be reduced based on their degree of fault. With a lawyer, victims may be able to determine how much they are eligible for and then, if the other side is willing, negotiate for that amount out of court.